Are children liars?

Can you imagine a world where we all spoke truth only ?If you punish your kids for telling the truth, then they will become liars to protect themselves.If mine do something they shouldn't, then I try to focus on helping them find a way to fix the problem they've created, or at least clearly understand how to do better in future. If they are caught out lying though, there is always a punishment too, but it's made clear that's for the lie. I just remember not sharing any of my problems and messes in my teens, for fear of punishment, so hoping this approach helps my future kids feel like they can confess things they've done wrong that they need help with. Parenting should come with psychology training lol. I thought babies was the hard bit til I saw poor people have them .If a child reports physical or sexual abuse, these allegations must always be investigated. but the investigation should take into account the child's ability to lie for its own gain......particularly as a simple, well-deserved smack from a parent is now, often, taken as "physical abuse". You only have to read a a few recent stories in the news about children who a smack, or even refusal of a treat, as abuse to see the damage the little devils can do.